Parents Furious After Receiving HOA Letter Encouraging Them to Stop Letting Their Kids Play Outside

For a parent, there's almost nothing as frustrating as someone's infringing on your kid's right to act like a kid. Whether it's owners banning children from their cafes or those annoying people who expect 3-year-olds to behave like fully grown adults in public, there's no limit to how people can make life more difficult for both children and parents. Case in point: A Home Owner's Association (HOA) insisted that children refrain from playing outside in their own neighborhood.

An HOA in a Sacramento, California, neighborhood shocked and infuriated parents with a recent letter it sent out.

The letter went public after Jed Peters, who moved into the neighborhood with his wife and kids only two months ago, shared it on social media.

"Honestly, we were a little put out and real upset to the fact that we didn't feel welcome in our neighborhood," Peters told CBS Sacramento.

After sharing photos of the letter, Jed says that he received plenty of support from his fellow neighbors. "We had over 75 positive responses from our neighbors," he added. "They said we want kids out front, not playing video games."

Unsurprisingly, an HOA board member who asked to remain anonymous actually defended the letter.

She insisted to CBS that while "the letter wasn't worded correctly," the HOA's request that children not play in the neighborhood was justified, adding that the decision was born out of concern for the safety of children and residents.

A board meeting has been scheduled to discuss the letter, but in the meantime, residents are trying to figure out which of their neighbors was actually grumpy enough to complain about kids playing outside. "I think this neighborhood is wonderful," Jed Peters's wife, Suzanne, told CBS. "I think there's maybe one bad apple that got a little cranky and didn't want to see the kids out."

Whether it was one bad apple or the entire HOA, trying to keep children "safe" by restricting their freedom to play in their own neighborhood is utterly ridiculous.